Meet the Man Behind the Book: Ralph Brennan

According to his profile at the Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook website, Ralph Brennan is a third-generation restaurateur who entered the restaurant business after a stint as a CPA for Price Waterhouse and Company. It's stated that his grandfather, Owen Edward Brennan, opened the first of the family's many restaurants in 1947, which quickly became a popular eatery of the French Quarter scene. Since that time, the Brennan Family legacy of fine food has only increased, composing 12 restaurants owned by different branches of the family. Among Ralph's restaurants are Bacco, Ralph's on the Park, Red Fish Grill and Disneyland's Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. He also co-owns Mr. B's Bistro, Commander's Palace and Brennan's of Houston.

His love of fine food has garnered Ralph the laurels of success. Among his many awards are the The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association's Gold Plate Operator of the Year for 2004 as well as his 2005 induction into the Louisiana Restaurant Association's Hall of Fame. But along with his love of food is his love of the city he calls home: New Orleans. He chooses to open restaurants in historic structures which are lovingly renovated. Among them are Ralph's on the Park which is located in a structure identified as the first concession stand opened at City Park in 1860 and Commander's Palace which has been a restaurant since 1880.

His current project, Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, has been garnering rave reviews. Ironically, this book may never have happened had Ralph not had his first oyster as a teenager. With his father very allergic to seafood, Ralph was raised on a diet of steaks and potatoes. In a piece at NOLA.com by Judy Walker, he states:

"I was in high school when some older guys invited me to play golf with them," Brennan said. After their round they went to Bozo's, where a couple of beers helped the first oyster, perched on a cracker, go down." I said 'That isn't bad,' and had a couple more," he said.

The spark of inspiration for a cookbook was lit when Charlee Williamson, VP of Ralph Brennan's Restaurant Group, overheard food writer John Mariani comment that the definitive seafood cookbook has yet to be done. At neworleanscitybusiness.com in an article by Emilie Bahr, Ralph states the idea floated around in his head for about five years before he began to bring together his team of talent for the project. Originally projected to take about two years, the project took four, largely due to Hurricane Katrina. He had this to say about his cookbook:

“What makes this different is it’s not just a restaurant cookbook,” Brennan said. “I think it will have a broader appeal. We also wanted to make a statement. Seafood is very, very important to our cuisines here, to the people that live here.”

Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook: "Ralph Brennan and The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group" 2008
NOLA.com: "Seafood city: New Orleans Recipes Abound in Ralph Brennan's Cookbook" 04/17/08
New Orleans City Business: "Ralph Brennan Serves Up Seafood Cookbook" 04/08/08

Photo by Kerri McCaffety. Copyright by The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Get to Know Executive Chef Haley Bitterman

In Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook, Mr. Brennan equally credits Executive Vice President Charlee Williamson and Executive Chef Haley Bitterman (née Gabel) of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group with moving the cookbook forward. He states on page 16 that, "It has been exciting to watch the two of them grow over our many years of working together."

According to the Ralph Brennan's New Orleans Seafood Cookbook website, Chef Haley first met Ralph Brennan at Mr. B's Bistro during her externship for the Culinary Arts Academy of Cincinnati. After her 1990 graduation, she returned to Mr. B's and served her apprenticeship under Gerard Maras where she was influenced by Maras' use of the freshest and finest of regional and local ingredients. The website identifies Haley as a trend-setter:

"In 1993, Haley was the first woman to be named Executive Chef of a Brennan Family (of Commander’s Palace Fame) kitchen when she was named Executive Chef of BACCO, Ralph Brennan’s Creole Italian restaurant adjacent to the W Hotel in the French Quarter. "Haley's combined talent, personality, and genuine love of food contributed to her early success at BACCO and her continued success today", says Ralph Brennan."

Her profile at the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group site states that she became Corporate Executive Chef in 2000 and she has also served as Director of Operations since June 2005. Among her many accomplishments, she appeared on John Schoup's Great Chefs of the New Guard television series as well as being a featured chef in the accompanying book.

Not only is Executive Chef Haley Bitterman an award-winning chef, she has also represented Louisiana and New Orleans culinary traditions on the world stage. She has prepared dishes for the United States Ambassador to Canada's residence in Ottawa as well as at the Montreal Highlights Festival, which features chefs from around the world preparing indigenous recipes. While she has worked her magic for two presidents, President Bill Clinton at a private home reception in New Orleans and President George W. Bush at Bacco's post-Katrina, she most recently prepared a luncheon for First Lady Laura Bush at Ralph's on the Park.

Her adventurous culinary side led her to support the move to eliminate trans fat from the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group's chain of restaurants, stating that, "As people are becoming more aware of trans fat and are now reading their labels in the grocery store, we wanted to lead the way in bringing a healthier menu to our customers."

SOURCE: "Chef Haley Bitterman" 2008
SOURCE: "Our Team: Haley Gabel"
SOURCE: "First Lady Visits Ralph's on the Park" 03/12/08
SOURCE: "Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group Eliminates Trans Fat" 05/16/07
Photo by Kerri McCaffety. Copyright by The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.